An Indio man was convicted of second-degree murder on Thursday for gunning down his best friend outside a house party in Indio.

Steven Lopez, 21, shot his friend, Jose Arriaga, 22, on May 27, 2016.

The victim was shot around 10 times outside a home in the 47500 block of Calle Zafiro. Another friend drove Arriaga to John F. Kennedy Memorial Hospital in Indio and he was then airlifted to Desert Regional Medical Center in Palm Springs where he died.

Jurors deliberated for two days before returning guilty verdicts on the second-degree murder count and a sentence-enhancing allegation of discharging a firearm.

Lopez will be sentenced Dec. 5.

Prosecutors said Lopez and Arriaga attended the house party together and were seen showing off firearms to each other during the gathering. They then went outside at some point prior to the gunfire.

Following the shooting, a person was seen by an eyewitness and on surveillance footage speeding away from the scene on a motorcycle.

Lopez was arrested three days later in Indio, when police found him riding in a car that was stopped on Jefferson Street, near Fred Waring Drive. A motorcycle key and a firearm were found inside the vehicle, though court documents state the gun was not the murder weapon, which has never been recovered.

Deputy District Attorney Samantha Paixao told jurors in her closing argument Tuesday morning that despite his best friend's murder, Lopez was nowhere to be found in the days following the killing, and his cell phone was turned off.

In addition to the murder weapon never being recovered, a green motorcycle, which Paixao said several people linked to Lopez, has never been found.

Defense attorney John Dolan countered there was no proof that Lopez was the rider fleeing the scene on the night of the shooting. He also claimed only one witness placed Lopez at the scene, with other party-goers telling police and attorneys that they never saw Lopez or his motorcycle at the Calle Zafiro home that night.

The only witness who offered any kind of physical description of the motorcyclist described the rider as a white man in his 40s or 50s with long hair, Dolan said.

“There is no physical evidence that shows that Steven Lopez is linked to this killing,'' said Dolan.

Dolan said the only forensic evidence in the case was Arriaga's DNA on the trigger of his own gun, which was found outside the home near his body.

No motive has been forwarded by prosecutors in the killing, but Paixao alleged that Lopez shot Arriaga as the two were saying goodbye. He lured his friend into a comfortable state and as (Arriaga) turned around to go back inside, his friend shot him in cold blood,'' Paixao said.

The prosecutor alleged that when the two were comparing guns inside the house, Lopez was able to see that Arriaga's gun was unloaded, giving him knowledge that he could catch Arriaga unaware, showing planning and premeditation in the slaying.

Live rounds that had fallen out of Arriaga's .38 revolver were found near the shooting scene.